REDDITCH MP Karen Lumley has welcomed a ‘game changer’ planning application which will provide more industrial space for use by Redditch businesses.
The proposed £85m Redditch Eastern Gateway development off Gorcott Hill will be sited east of the town at the junction of the A4032 and A435 and close to Ravensbank Business Park.
The 75-acre site could see the creation of up to 2,500 jobs and almost one million square feet of new office and industrial space.
Developer Stoford are working on a planning application to be submitted to Stratford District Council early this year.
“I’m very excited by this project,” said Mrs Lumley, “and it’s very good news for the people of Redditch, a game-changer.
“Obviously there are people who have concerns but we have got to move forward and bring hi-tech jobs to Redditch.”
Ken Pollock, Worcestershire county council cabinet member with responsibility for economy, skills and infrastructure, who chairs the Eastern Gateway board added: “It’s been a complicated process involving three district or borough councils, two county councils and different parcels of land.
“The intention is that it should not be just a logistics centre, we want hi-tech jobs that will boost the economy of Redditch – we have companies who cannot expand because there is simply nothing available.
“We need places that people can move to so that they can continue to grow and stay in Redditch.”
